With all three games previewed in WtW running at essentially the same time, I was only able to watch parts of the matches. So, here’s just a few thoughts from each one (sorry no details). Also, a preview of the midweek ‘Watching This Weekend’ featuring the opening round of European (Champions League) action. Manchester United vs Bayer Leverkusen.

3. Almeria vs Atletico Madrid (2-4)

Kim Young-Kiu did not make the bench this time round as Almeria fell to a very good looking Atletico side 4-2.

2. Sunderland vs Arsenal (1-3)

Ki started for Sunderland, while Ji didn’t make the 18. Likewise, Park Chu-Young did not make the 18 for Arsenal, with 17 year old Chuba Akpom and 18 year old Serge Gnabry making the bench ahead of him (Akpom even managed to come off the bench in stoppage time). Ki played in center midfield for Sunderland in a 4-4-2. Ki was largely invisible through the part of the match that I saw, with Sunderland struggling to get any sort of foothold in the match. One hopes that Ki will slowly grow more accustomed to his new team as time goes on, and puts in better shows against slightly weaker opposition. If things continue as they are for Ki, it’s hard to see him making a club level push for more playing time with the national team.

1. Bayer Leverkusen vs Wolfsburg (3-1)

Both Son Heung-Min and Koo Ja-Cheol started for their respective clubs, but both also got the eventual hook. With Koo going off in the 59th minute and Son in the 80th. Son continues to look a little lost with Leverkusen. Not really a wide player, but not really a central attacking force either. Boenisch continues to dominate the left side of the pitch, forcing Son into more central positions, but with Stephen Kiessling there, it’s hard for him to really make an impact. Son’s best first half moments were on the break, when he had space to burst down the wing. Things would probably be better for him if Kiessling was willing to drift wide and open space for him, but he tends not to . . .

Koo also seems a bit lost with Wolfsburg. Diego has a free roaming role, and seems to drop deep too often (for my liking), taking Koo’s position in the process, and then racing up the pitch to once again, take Koo’s position. When Diego isn’t doing this, Wolfsburg seems content to play more direct from back to front, and thus bypassing Koo entirely. Koo did have one chance to make an impact when Luis Gustavo’s long range effort crashed off the crossbar, but Koo could only make a sliding hook shot that went well wide.

Watching this Weekend Midweek Edition

The big midweek game for Korean fans is Manchester United vs Bayer Leverkusen. Son Heung-Min should get his first taste of the European big time, and a trip to Old Trafford is his reward.

United, despite losing Sir Alex Ferguson, is still tipped to top this group (which also features Real Sociedad and Shakhtar Donetsk), but Leverkusen should be able to give them a good run for their money (as should Sociedad). United, after a piss poor summer (market-wise), has been a bit up and down in the early goings. A draw with Chelsea, and a loss to archrivals Liverpool, coupled with wins over Swansea and Crystal Palace. New manager David Moyes is cautious by nature, which could serve him better in the more tactical, calculated Champions League than the more open Premier League. United’s problem continues to be inconsistency on the wings, a possible soft midfield (although the addition of Fellaini should help), and an injury-prone defense.

Robin Van Persie continues to be the danger man, although Wayne Rooney, after yet another protracted transfer temper tantrum, has also returned to good form. When on-form the partnership of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic is solid, and David De Gea has turned out to be a very good keeper. Patrice Evra remains the left back, but has lost a bit of his burst, and is a liability at times. Right back Rafael has missed the season so far through injury, with Phil Jones and twin brother Fabio taking turns there. Star Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa continues to get the cold shoulder, having yet to appear in a United game this season.

Leverkusen needs little introduction at this point, having been covered several times already in this column. I don’t think Sami Hyypia will change much to the side that beat Wolfsburg (see above) on Saturday. Hyypia, of course will be very familiar with United, having spent 10 years at Liverpool as a player, and I’m sure some of that old rivalry will not be lost on him.

This game being at Old Trafford, I expect Leverkusen to be a bit more of the reactive side. A draw would certainly suffice the Germans, so unless United take an early lead, look for some defensive tactics. Such tactics should suit Son fine, as his pace could cause some real headaches for the United defense. One of Vidic or Ferdinand should be attached to Kiessling, enabling Son and Sam to spring forward from wide positions into space.

TV –It looks to me (people with more knowledge please correct if I’m wrong) that Fox Sports 2 will be showing the United-Leverkusen game. It starts at 8pm EDT.Correction: United-Leverkusen is at 2:30pm EDT on Fox Sports 1. The aforementioned time and channel is a replay. In Korea, it looks like the game will be broadcast on delay on SPOTV+ at 8am (Wednesday).

>>Tavern owner intruding on Jae’s post: Jae beat me to the midweek update (nice job as usual!) , but rather than build a whole new post – I’ll piggy back. Right, so Son’s debut in the Champions League is obviously tops. Korean Footballers Abroad has a few more less visible midweek matches to be aware of:

Lee Chung Yong and Bolton host Derby County at home. Tuesday at 2:45 PM US EST. No TV in the US. May start if he can get rested.

Yun Suk Young and QPR host Brighton. Wednesday at 2:45 PM US EST. No TV in the US and low probability of even making the bench.

Park Ji Sung and PSV start Europa group stage hosting Ludogorets Razgrad. Thursday at 1PM US EST. No TV in the US ESPN3.com in the US

Before we quickly recap the weekend performances ( a number of players were rested due to international duty), check out the Bundelsliga table:

#3 Bayer Leverkusen, #5 Mainz and #6 FC Augsburg – that 6th spot is the last Europa league qualifying position –not too shabby for a team that was on the edge of relegation. Wolfsburg meanwhile is in a #12th spot – a midtable spot for the moment.

ENGLAND

Premier League

Sunderland MF Ki Sung-Yeung: 90 minutes in 3-1 loss to Arsenal

Sunderland F Ji Dong-Won: not in 18 in 3-1 loss to Arsenal

Cardiff City MF Kim Bo-Kyung: 46 min in a 1-1 draw at Hull

Championship

Bolton MF Stuart HoldenLee Chung-Yong: 90 minutes 1-0 loss to Leeds

*Unless Stu is a secret Korean bro posing as a caucasian, he is not a KPA. My mistake! For Stu Holden supporters, he’s still out with another knee injury suffered during Confederations cup tourney last July.

Obviously, a game on the radar was the Leverkusen/Wolfsburg match. Even Bayer Leverkusen legend Cha Bum-Kun couldn’t resist and came to the match in style – a nice luxury box view of the proceedings, followed by some PR shots of the old Korean guard meeting the new Korean generation representin’. Son might have missed a perfect chance to score his 2nd goal of the season, but he’ll no doubt have plenty of other opportunities to score. Koo looked to have pretty decent movement on the ball according to this video recap (check out the moves at :35 !! ):

I think they have a chance to spring one on United. Kiessling, Son, and Sam should pose some problems to the United defense that tends to have trouble with pacey players. Leverkusen will need to be wary of Van Persie and Rooney, but there should certainly be some counter-attacking chances. I think it’ll be close in terms of the score, but it could go either way. I think group A will be a tricky one, harder than some pundits seem to think. Sociedad won’t be a pushover nor will Donetsk.

Ehh, sounds a bit overly simplified. While Leverkusen does play more direct, United does also at times. I think it would depend on who Moyes puts in midfield. Carrick will likely start, but his partner will likely be the key. If Moyes goes for more power in the shape of Fellaini than I would expect United to be a fairly normal 4-4-2. If he goes for more skill with Cleverley or even Anderson they might be more shorter passing style. Either way I don’t think it’ll matter much. United will likely control the pace of the game, and for the most part that’s fine. Leverkusen’s danger will come on the break. It won’t be a stroll for Bayer, but I think they’ll create some chances. They’ll put 7-8 men behind the ball, likely leaving Son and either Kiessling or Sam higher up, looking to exploit the holes in United’s defense (advanced fullbacks and slower CBs).

I don’t think he’s had enough time to work his way into the squad yet since he was in Korea for the two friendlies. Augsburg doesn’t have a rock solid defense, but Hong will still need to earn his way into the starting XI.

K League Classic

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

#

Team

P

1

Gyeongnam

9

2

Gangwon

9

3

Pohang Steelers

7

4

Jeonbuk Motors

6

5

Suwon Bluewings

4

6

Incheon United

4

7

Jeju United

4

8

Jeonnam Dragons

3

9

Sangju Sangmu

3

10

Seoul

1

11

Daegu

1

12

Ulsan

0

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

March 18, 2018

Suwon Bluewings

1 - 1

Pohang Steelers

Ulsan

0 - 1

Jeju United

Jeonbuk Motors

2 - 1

Seoul

March 17, 2018

Jeonnam Dragons

1 - 3

Gyeongnam

Gangwon

2 - 1

Sangju Sangmu

Incheon United

0 - 0

Daegu

English Premier League

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

#

Team

P

1

Manchester City

81

2

Manchester United

65

3

Liverpool

63

4

Tottenham Hotspur

61

5

Chelsea

56

6

Arsenal

48

7

Burnley

43

8

Leicester City

40

9

Everton

40

10

AFC Bournemouth

36

11

Watford

36

12

Brighton & Hov…

34

13

Newcastle United

32

14

Swansea City

31

15

Huddersfield Town

31

16

Crystal Palace

30

17

West Ham United

30

18

Southampton

28

19

Stoke City

27

20

West Bromwich Albion

20

Hwang Heechan

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

#

Team

P

1

Red Bull Salzburg

62

Bundesliga

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

#

Team

P

1

Bayern München

66

2

Schalke 04

49

3

Borussia Dortmund

48

4

Eintracht Frankfurt

45

5

Bayer 04 Leverkusen

44

6

RB Leipzig

43

7

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim

39

8

Stuttgart

37

9

Borussia Mönchengladbach

36

10

Augsburg 1907

35

11

Hertha BSC

35

12

Werder Bremen

33

13

Hannover 96

32

14

SC Freiburg

30

15

Wolfsburg

25

16

1. FSV Mainz 05

25

17

1. FC Köln

20

18

Hamburger SV

18

Kwon Changhoon

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

#

Team

P

10

Dijon

38

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The Tavern of the Taeguk Warriors is an online community of Korean football/soccer supporters. We bring you news, analysis and opinion in English about Korean players abroad, youth players and the K League.